The Matchroom Charitable Foundation has now donated over £2 million to 29 charities and 63 grants with more grants made in the last 12 months than ever.
Over the last 12 months, funding has allowed charities such as the Jessie May Children’s Hospice, St Francis Hospice, Haven House Children’s Hospice, British Disabled Angling, Alexandra Palace Parks Trust and more receive vital help for projects that make a difference as they recover from a slump in overall funding due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A £300,000 donation over the next three years will allow the Addenbrook’s Charitable Trust at Cambridge Children’s Hospital to open a dedicated children’s rehabilitation gym and therapies room which will be known as the Matchroom Gym. The funding is part of a wider ground-breaking project worth nearly £200 million between the Cambridge University Hospitals, Cambridge University, and the NHS.
Through the rehabilitation facilities, they will provide dedicated therapy spaces for children, making it easier to provide specific, tailored therapies in calm, age-appropriate environments. This will ensure that children can be physically active, supporting them in their recovery, whilst also building self-confidence and improving their mental health.
The funding has allowed Jessie May provide 5,113 hours of face-to-face support to 136 families and over 80 support hospital visits, and over 135 hours of support phone calls.
Comments from families supported by Jessie May underline just how vital their work is: “Just knowing they [Jessie May nurses] are there, that they know our family and that they would be there as my daughter was approaching end of life. That is a comfort knowing they are part of a safety net that we have.”
St Francis Hospice and Haven House Children’s Hospice will receive a donation of £150,000 over three years each whilst further donations from the foundation will allow Phase 2 of Alexandra Palace’s Wild in the Park Programme.
2022 has seen the foundation donate to more causes and commit more funding to more projects than ever before with 16 grants made – it has allowed the British Disabled Angling Association open up the UK’s most participated sport to more through campaigns whilst England and Wales Blind Golf received funding which helps them provide support for impaired golfers with the opportunity to get involved in golf allows EWBG to host training events, lessons for juniors and support for their families along with national competitions and social golf.
Charities to Benefit
| Charities | Grants Made |
| Alexandra Palace Parks Trust | 4 |
| Bluebell Wood | 3 |
| British Disabled Angling | 2 |
| Future Youth Zone | 2 |
| Haven House Children’s Hospice | 6 |
| Jessie May | 6 |
| J’s Hospice | 4 |
| Kangaroo Disability Clubs | 1 |
| KEEN | 4 |
| MACS | 2 |
| Parkinsons UK | 1 |
| Pioneer Special School | 1 |
| Silence of Suicide | 1 |
| SNAP | 4 |
| St Francis Hospice | 6 |
| Teens Unite | 1 |
| The Donna Louise Trust | 3 |
| Cyclists Fighting Cancer | 1 |
| Handicapped Children’s Action Group | 1 |
| Paces Sheffield | 1 |
| James Hopkins Trust | 1 |
| Galloways | 1 |
| Animal Antiks | 1 |
| Remus Horse Sanctuary | 1 |
| Hopefields Animal Sanctuary | 1 |
| Strongbones, Romford | 1 |
| Royal Society for Blind Children | 1 |
| Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust | 1 |
| England and Wales Blind Golf | 1 |
| Grand Total | 63 |
The Matchroom Sport Charitable Foundation was created to centralise the benevolent efforts of Matchroom Sport, the global sports promotion company headed by Barry Hearn, and it’s subsidiaries – the Professional Darts Corporation, World Snooker Tour and the PGA EuroPro Tour.
For over 30 years, Matchroom Sport has donated millions of pounds to a wide-range of charities throughout its many sporting activities, including sports and community charities, and a number of hospices for both children and adults.
Matchroom now promotes in excess of 100 events per year, selling over 500,000 tickets in the process. Part of the Foundation’s funding will come from a contribution equivalent to £1 for every ticket sold for these events.
The Matchroom Sport Charitable Foundation aims to channel these monies to create a significant and sustainable impact on deserving causes which make a difference to people’s lives.